Initial findings on the crushed taxi showed that it was not speeding and there were no skid marks at the scene. Photo: Edward Wong

A taxi driver was killed when his car plunged 18 metres from a flyover in Ngau Tau Kok yesterday morning.

Police are still investigating how the car came to mount a sloping concrete road divider and then fall down the gap between the two diverging roads.

The taxi driver, Wong Siu-kong, 55, who sustained serious head injuries, was declared dead at the scene.

The accident happened at about 8.15am when Wong, who was at the end of his night shift, was driving his empty taxi on the Ngau Tau Kok Road flyover towards Choi Hung. Police investigators said that when the car approached section No33 of the road, it ran up the road divider, hit a traffic sign and plunged off the flyover.

The taxi fell 18 metres and landed on its roof in a park, crushing the roof and breaking off one of the front wheels. Wong was trapped inside the car.

A newspaper vendor was shocked. "I saw it fall down and heard a large 'bump'. Then dust was flying up."

He said it was lucky the accident happened early as there were few people in the park.

"Later in the day there would be more people," he said. "They usually arrive around 9am or 10am. Plus it is election day, so many people went to cast their votes."

Firefighters rushed to the scene, turned the cab over and retrieved Wong's body. Members of his family arrived sometime later and identified his body.

Chief Inspector Joseph Tsang Siu-leung, of Kowloon East Traffic Investigation and Support Division, said initial findings showed the cab was not speeding, there were no skid marks and the scene was not an accident black spot.

"We are investigating several ideas," he said. "The driver may have suffered from an illness or have been in the wrong lane."

Kwan Yuk-wah, chairman of the Urban Taxi Drivers Association Joint Committee, said Wong could be exhausted after driving for 15 hours.

Julian Kwong Tse-hin, a road safety consultant, said the design of the ramped road divider was outdated and should be replaced by a crash cushion, along with clearer road markings.

Police asked any witnesses to call 2305 7572

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Taxi driver killed in flyover plunge